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Digging Up Bones of Native Hawaiian Warriors in a Heiau

When you dig a hole, do you expect to see skeletons coming out of the
earth? Sometimes, that happens in Hawaii, as urban development occasionally does come across ancient burial
grounds. In May 1898, seven workers were evening out the dirt mounds in
the Helumoa coconut grove to make way for a seaside annex for the
Hawaiian Hotel. They were removing a tree by cutting its roots,
completing most of the work by their 12 p.m. break. When the
workers returned at 1 p.m., the tree started falling, and the workers
ran away.

Then, the unimaginable happened: "Flung high
in the air by the catapultic motion of the roots was a mass of human
bones--entire skulls, femurs, vertebra, ribs, everything." Afterwards,
only the foreman, wanting to keep his job,
returned to the area and found more skeletons, including five
skulls. A set of skeleton was "in a sitting posture with arms
extended over the head, as if the subject had been warding off a blow
when struck down to his ultimate tomb." Another one had "a temple dinged
in, as if from a spear thrust." Colonel John W. MacFarlane, the royal chamberlain, didn't think Mr.
Bishop, the owner of the property, knew about the burials before the
discovery.

Kaohi, a Native Hawaiian woman
who lived there since birth, explained the site contained the
Puuo'niihau Heiau (temple), and the Hawaiian warriors who died defending Oahu
from the warriors of Kamehameha I were buried in the walls over a century ago. Kaohi was most likely referring to the heiau
Helumoa, and the first mo'i (ruler) of Oahu, Ma'likukahi,
created it around 1350 AD. Also known as Apuakehau, Helumoa was once the main heiau for the ali'i (the Hawaiian ruling class), and the
celebration of the Makahiki (the harvest festival) on Oahu every year
started there.

During the 19th century, most Hawaiian royalties resided in or
close to the Helumoa area, including Kamehameha
V, who lived in a traditional grass house. The area had a good
surf spot and a lot of food and water. In the 16th century, when
Kakuhihewa ruled Oahu, the coconut grove was created and reportedly
had 10,000 coconut trees. Today, however, most of the coconut
grove is gone, and the Royal Hawaiian Hotel (formerly the Hawaiian
Hotel) and the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center now stand in the area.